2021 Reno! Sleep 16. The 1854 Telegraph Co. House Open to Public for First Time!
Sunday to Sunday weekly rental in July and August. Weekend and shorter stays accepted the other 10 months.
This 7 bedroom 4 bathroom historic home is a profound residence in the heart of York Harbor. With the support of the local community and a large singular financier the home went through a complete renovation in 2021 preserving the structure and magnificent exterior architectural features while updating the interior to a fabulous single family residence with exquisite modern features. The home was built in 1854 by the York Telegraph Company and is now available to the public for rent for the first time in its 150 year history! The house is located perfectly with a 3 minute walk to York Harbor Beach and a 5 minute walk to The Stage Neck Inn and The York Harbor Inn. With friendly ties to each establishment the home owner can facilitate any of your special needs. This home has an enjoyable large back yard with fire pit and covered patio for peaceful summer evening dining. The front porch or upper living room provide for the perfect location to enjoy a cup of coffee and see the sunrise over majestic Wiggley Bridge while greeting any passers-by. The separate first floor and second floor living areas provide for guests to spread out and relax during the day while the large kitchen and dining area seating 20 provides for a gathering place at day’s end. This property is tucked into the heart of a wonderful community known as York Harbor. We welcome you to join our community for the duration of your stay and enjoy all York has to offer. Enjoy and safe travels to you and your guests.
Property manager
Joseph Szeniawski
Premier Host
Languages
English
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Amenities
Kitchen
Washer
Dryer
Free WiFi
Air conditioning
Outdoor space
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Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
On-site parties or group events are strictly prohibited
Host has indicated that there is a carbon monoxide detector on the property
Host has indicated that there is a smoke detector on the property
Safety features at this property include a fire extinguisher and a deadlock
We should mention
A car is recommended for transport to and from this property
About the area
York Harbor
Located in York Harbor, this holiday home is in the city centre and on the beach. Nubble Lighthouse and Market Square are notable landmarks, and the area's natural beauty can be seen at Long Sands Beach and Short Sands Beach. Travelling with kids? Consider York's Wild Kingdom and Yummies Candy and Nuts. Make sure you get close to the area's animals with activities such as game walks and birdwatching.
York, ME
What's nearby
York Harbor Beach - 4 min walk - 0.4 km
Long Sands Beach - 5 min drive - 2.9 km
York's Wild Kingdom - 8 min drive - 5.9 km
Short Sands Beach - 10 min drive - 6.6 km
Nubble Lighthouse - 12 min drive - 6.8 km
Getting around
Wells Regional Transportation Center - 18 min drive
Portsmouth, NH (PSM-Portsmouth Intl.) - 20 min drive
Restaurants
Anthony S Food Shop - 6 min drive
Stonewall Kitchen - 6 min drive
Stones Throw - 8 min drive
York River Landing - 7 min drive
York Beach Beer Company - 9 min drive
Frequently asked questions
Is 2021 Reno! Sleep 16. The 1854 Telegraph Co. House Open to Public for First Time! pet-friendly?
No, pets are not allowed at this property.
What time is check-in at 2021 Reno! Sleep 16. The 1854 Telegraph Co. House Open to Public for First Time!?
Check-in begins at 3:00 PM.
What time is check-out at 2021 Reno! Sleep 16. The 1854 Telegraph Co. House Open to Public for First Time!?
Checkout is at 10:00 AM.
Where is 2021 Reno! Sleep 16. The 1854 Telegraph Co. House Open to Public for First Time! located?
Located in York Harbor, this beachfront holiday home is in the city centre and within a 10-minute walk of York Harbor Beach and Wiggly Bridge and Steedman Woods. York Hospital and Old Gaol are also within 1 mile (2 km).
Reviews
10
Exceptional
Reviews are presented in chronological order, subject to a moderation process, and verified unless otherwise labelled.
Lovely property and plenty of space for whole family to spread out. Thoughtfully appointed with books and games and modern kitchen. Very pretty garden in the rear.
Joseph’s house is an absolute dream, and I highly recommend staying there if you have the opportunity! We got married in York and wanted to comfortably host our large family and their spouses nearby. The house is expansive with plenty of space and bedrooms for everyone to relax and enjoy. Joseph thought of every possible thing you could want or need, including towels, beach chairs, corn hole, utensils and platters for fun backyard cookouts on the grill. The house itself has amazing history and has been preserved beautifully. The location is ideal, right near downtown and an easy walk to Harbor Beach. I would absolutely recommend staying at the Telegraph house, and am so grateful for the memories we were able to make for our family in York that we will cherish forever.
Great location, large clean modern home interior, plenty of towels, kitchenware. A highlight is a huge kitchen table that allowed us all to eat together and play games as a group. Just a fun time at a great place. Owner is quick to respond to any questions. We already booked for July 2025.
The house was exactly as described. Check-in and check-out were easy as could be, and Joseph included a very well-organized binder with all the information one could possibly need. The location was perfect. We had a fantastic time and would absolutely book the place again.
Exceptionally large home with lots of room to spread out including a game room and second floor lounge. Back yard was nice with a large covered patio and firepit. Really enjoyed our stay!
What a great find! Home is large, modern clean interior, well-stocked kitchen with pots, pans, lobster utensils, and more. Beds are comfortable with quality bedding along with quality beach towels. The large kitchen table seats the whole crew and is perfect for playing cards and other games. The game room is a plus! Space in the backyard for all to sit to eat a meal and enough grass area to play outdoor games. All around great place to spend time together. We had 14 people, aged 85 to 13, and it was good for all. Proximity to the beach is great, a couple min walk. The host is easy to communicate with. Very responsive. We hope to visit again.... hopefully next summer!
Our family gathered for a long overdue reunion at the Telegraph office which has been beautifully renovated. The seven bedrooms are well spaced over three floors, so plenty of private nooks and crannies for a large group. The kitchen/dining area has a large table that is perfect for family dinners. The kitchen is well supplied with cookware. The backyard BBQ and fire pit work well for meals al fresco. The shed is well supplied with beach chairs and other fun stuff. And the location is a short walk to the Harbor Beach, a real jewel. In short, this is the perfect spot for a Maine shore vacation.
Loved our stay; home was really large and our party of 6 adults and 8 kids (all 7 and under) had plenty of room! Joseph was extremely responsive and a wonderful host.
Joseph was a wonderful host. We stay at a lot of VRBOs and he had all of the basics covered and more! From the pictures we thought it might be smaller than what we were looking for, but it was so much space!! And beautifully renovated, keeping wonderful details yet updgrading to beautiful and functional spaces. A block from the beach - and the best kept secret beach, not too crowded - just right. It seemed like we would say, "is there a lighter for the fire pit" turn around and it was there on the wall. You could tell he put a lot of care into making sure his guests are comfortable and that his home was maintained well. Thanks so much to you Joseph - it was everything I could do to wrap up work and get away and we had a wonderful week of family dinners at the big table - and cookouts out back. All the heart really needed. My cousins up there may want to talk about a Thanksgiving week - it truly is a great location and set up fo r it!
The house is very large, allowing everyone to have space. The 7 bedrooms have beds for 1, 2, or 4 guests, making room assignments very flexible. The 4 bathrooms are well placed, and include 2 tubs, great for kids. The dining room table easily fits 17 people and the kitchen is well stocked. The 3 other gathering areas allow people to spread out, but be together when they want. There are books, toys, and games for all ages. The yard is a nice size, and again well stocked with outdoor furniture, activities, a grill, and a fire pit. It is a very easy walk to the close beach, a perfect place for children, with sand and small waves. It is an easy and pretty walk to the Wiggly Bridge, starting down the street opposite the house. There are other walks in the area. There is a cluster of small stores about 1/2 mile away, and a large grocery store a bit over a mile away. The street does have very polite traffic during the day, but it dies down in the evening. I would try to get this house the next time I go to York with a large group.
Fantastic spot in York Harbor to relax and enjoy the nearby attractions. The home is clean, spacious and has many amenities for guests of all ages. Highly recommend for a family vacation.
Jim and Leslie F
Beautiful home with charm and modern conveniences. Layout perfect for large families with lots of gathering space plus privacy. Well stocked with cleaning products, towels, beach towels, etc. Lots to do in area and great beach within easy walking distance. The only note I would add is that the house is located on the main road. The noise was not a problem, but worthy of note if you have small children.
We had a wonderful time in Maine. The house is beautifully renovated on the inside. Short walks to beach, restaurants and the harbor/wobbly bridge. Great location for an active family. Kitchenware was beautiful and new. Bedding was great. Would definitely recommend to another large family.
This home was a great find! It accommodated our family group of 17 with no problem. The kitchen and dining table were large and allowed everyone to be together for meals and games! Very clean home with comfortable bedding and it was well stocked for cooking and dining.
Loved that there was a history with the house and the renovation was very well done.
Joseph responded to my questions promptly and was helpful. Thank you!
This was our first visit to York but won’t be the last!
Don’t hesitate to try the “Telegraph House”.
The house is beautiful and really great for a large group to spread out in. We were having a celebration of our book group's 10th anniversary and our requirements were enough space for everyone to sleep, but also a large dining table and enough space in a living room for everyone to congregate, both of which were provided here. Beds and furniture were comfortable and loved the bedding and blankets on the couch. As we went at the end of Oct. we didn't really use the outdoor space except to grill but I'm sure it would be lovely in the summer. There is another house literally right next door so I can see how outdoor noise would be a problem. The driveway was big enough to fit 4-5 cars back to back. There are a few small tweaks that would make it even better - the kitchen is a bit oddly laid out (glasses should be in the cabinet near to the fridge, the silverware isn't where you think it should be, etc.); the upstairs baths really need a curtain or shade as you are right in front of the window looking at the neighbors driveway/house when using the toilet or shower; and we ran out of both toilet paper and dishwasher pods (there was only 1) and didn't find any extra sheets as described in the book. (But to be fair, we didn't contact the owner and just went to the store ourselves. He was very responsive on anything else.) Overall, would highly recommend as a great group gathering space!
Very large and beautiful house for 17 people. Be aware of neighbor.
Pros:
The house was immaculate upon arrival and was ready for us to use immediately. It was three floors and had 11-12 bedrooms with 4 or 5 couches which allowed for everyone to be accommodated. Short Beach is about a 4 minute walk away and was a really good beach to spend the whole day at.
Cons: Some people have mentioned the sticky entrance door, its not a huge problem it just requires you to push the bottom of the door with your foot, not a big deal.
During our trip we broke a small (6"x4") window pane on one of the doors. It was deemed not covered under insurance and caused the home owner to be in constant communication with me for the rest of the trip regarding keeping the house in order.
The neighbor also seemingly has it out for the rental houses as both our house and the house next to us received noise complaints from this same neighbor. We also received a threat from the neighbor in person that he would call the York Police if we had another night spent outside. We remained inside at night for the rest of the trip.
The landlord was in contact with me 2-3 times a day via text/email and phone calls, and even went so far as to have a conference call with the VRBO customer service, regarding the broken window, which we had already discussed between the two of us. It did not feel like a vacation having to constantly look at my phone and step away from what I was doing in order to talk to him. His brother came to evaluate the window and told us in short that "it wasnt a big deal, and we seemed like a good group," however the daily calls continued to occur until we checked out the final day, and he even messaged me around dinner time one night, when I had been away from my phone that if I did not pick up that he would have to cancel the rest of our trip.
The neighbor was probably the worst problem, as he clearly hates the fact that he lives next to a very large vacation rental home in Maine during the summer...He was very rude in person and made a much bigger deal to a problem that could've been handled with "turn the music down."
OVERALL:
We made the best of our trip and did have a good time being away from home in a really nice house. I wouldn't recommend large friend groups rent out this house nor loud family's (the house next to us who also received a noise complaint was a family reunion). Take the above into consideration before this "very large 17 person house" seems like a great idea for vacation.
The home was very nice. A few quirky things, like one side door that would not open. Propane tank that was left empty ☹️. Not sure how accessible it truly is for a completely wheelchair person, doors too narrow for us and bed too high. A huge plus was the location, absolutely beautiful. The beds were comfy and it was clean.
Joe, thank you for sharing your home with my family and friends. We had a great weekend. It was a weekend away with 4 families from Boston. We could not have asked for a better place to stay. Having bedrooms on three floors allowed us our own personal space. The shuffleboard room was a great meeting place for late night fun. Having two living room areas, on two floors and two tv's allowed for multiple viewing options. Watching the Belmont on the 65 inch TV downstairs was probably the highlight - it didn't hurt that we picked the right horse! Not only was the house beautiful but we all joked it was also lucky. We will be back next year for the Kentucky Derby. We could not have asked for a better weekend weather wise and took full advantage. The short 2 minute walk to Harbor Beach was so easy. The house was well equipped with all the cooking tools we needed. Knowing their was a Keurig we brought our own pods and had morning coffee on the back patio every day. Our only complaint was our stay was too short. We hope to make the trip from Boston a regular routine and we are in the process of booking a full week next year.
While the house was perfect so was Joe's attention to detail. We had no questions upon arrival as he made it very easy to gain access to the property and his welcome binder was amazing. If there is a restaurant in York, Joe knows about it and his local connections were a huge help.
Joe mentioned that the property went through a major renovation in 2019 and we could tell. Everything was brand new and very well done. It even had that new house smell!
Thank you for being a great host and allowing us to enjoy your home.
Charles S.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2019
About the host
Hosted by Joseph Szeniawski
I am a military helicopter pilot in the United States Air Force, living in York, Maine. I have family in York, Maine and I grew up in York, Maine.
Why they chose this property
This property is close to the beach but not so close you have to deal with all the noise of cars loading/unloading and/or disruptive people at night. It's close enough to the beach to walk if you want. It is near the village for historical sights and near the beaches and restaurants/bars for fun and relaxation. It is near restaurants for dining and enjoying great Maine lobster. I am an honest straight forward person and will do everything in my power to make your vacation awesome!
What makes this property unique
My family and I live in town so any issues you have can be remedied on the spot, same day. No long-distance issues to resolve or management company headaches. Most houses that sleep this many people in this location are outdated and rent for $15,000 to $20,000 a week in York. Enjoy a freshly renovated home during your vacation. My place is a great deal. The summer is going to be here shortly!
Languages:
English
Premier Host
They consistently provide great experiences for their guests